BLOG: Everett Silvertips back at practice Tuesday

The Everett Silvertips returned to the ice Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday’s game against the Prince Albert Raiders.

I caught up with Sean Richards who has been on a tear since being healthy scratched after taking undisciplined penalties in back-to-back games to end Everett’s Central Division swing last month.

#Silvertips getting production from Sean Richards. Assuming I looked up everything correctly (a sometimes-dubious proposition), he has seven points in seven games since joining the top line. Tips 4-2-1 in that span. Also Richards has nine points in last eight games. pic.twitter.com/6T3wc4zE3f

Head coach Dennis Williams said he was pleased with getting three of the possible four points last weekend at Prince George, but was a little disappointed at Friday’s performance.

“I didn’t think we had a really good effort on Friday,” Williams said. “I thought as a whole we were half a step off, and to give up two two-goal leads, it makes it worse when you think back about that extra point. What I did like was our response on Saturday. We started to skate and move pucks.”

Carter Hart was a big part of that response, so I also asked about Williams about Hart’s performance.

“I think he’s been tremendous,” Williams said. “Calm demeanor, makes big saves when you need him too. He’s always made the saves he’s supposed to make, and it was good to get him right back after that game on Friday. He wanted to be back in there and responded the way we wanted, and that was probably a tribute, as well, to how our players responded. All of them right through did a good job. But he’s playing some pretty good hockey.”

Speaking of goaltenders: Dylan Ferguson of the Kamloops Blazers made his NHL debut for the Vegas Golden Knights tonight when he entered midway through the third period in an 8-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Ferguson had struggled for the Blazers this season (4-9, 4.05, .878), but was called up to Vegas as an emergency option last week.

Ferguson was taken in the same round (eighth) in the same year (2013) in the bantam draft as Carter Hart. While Hart was a second-round pick of Philadelphia in the 2016 NHL draft, Ferguson has a late birthday and went in the seventh round to Dallas in the 2017 NHL draft, before Vegas acquired his rights.

Hart supplanted Austin Lotz as Everett’s starting goalie as a 17-year-old. Ferguson waited behind Connor Ingram in Kamloops, eventually compiling a 16-10 record with a .922 save percentage and a 2.74 goals-against average in 31 games last season.